Cecil Whig

The Cecil Whig is a local newspaper published in Cecil County, Maryland three days a week. It has a circulation of approximately 17,500.

The paper was founded in 1841 to circulate the Whig political party beliefs. The Whig promoted itself as “Devoted to Politics, Agriculture, The Useful Arts, Literature and General Intelligence.” The Whig was originally published weekly, from a log cabin.

In 1843, the Cecil Whig's founding editor, Palmer C. Ricketts, killed the editor of the rival Cecil Democrat (published weekly until 1981) in Elkton. From his jail cell, Ricketts published the newspaper while awaiting trial. A jury later ruled that his act had been self defense.

The Cecil Whig is one of the country's oldest newspapers. It is the oldest newspaper on Maryland’s Eastern Shore still publishing under its original name. In 1989, the Whig began daily circulation, publishing papers Monday through Friday. In 2012, the Whig began publishing three days a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday.